Islamists have penetrated U.S. prisons, law enforcement, and armed forces

[L@mplighterM]

September 29, 2003
By Daniel Pipes

THE news last week that two Muslim military personnel, James Yee and Ahmad al-Halabi, had been arrested on suspicion of aiding Al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantnamo Bay (with another three Muslim servicemen under watch) seemed to prompt much surprise. It should not have.

It has been obvious for months that Islamists who despise America have penetrated U.S. prisons, law enforcement, and armed forces. In February, a milestone Wall Street Journal article established that imams who consider Osama bin Laden "a hero of Allah" dominate the Islamic chaplaincy in the New York state prison system.

In March, I documented the case of FBI Special Agent Gamal Abdel-Hafiz: His superiors not only overlooked this immigrant's pattern of pro-Islamist behavior, they promoted him.

And at least six prior cases of Islamist servicemen have come to light:

Ali Mohamed: An Egyptian immigrant who after discharge from the U.S. Army went to work for Osama bin Laden, Mohamed pleaded guilty to helping plan the 1998 bombing surveillance of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. He's now in prison serving his sentence.

Semi Osman: An ethnic Lebanese immigrant and non-U.S. citizen who served in both the Army and Naval Reserve, Osman was arrested in 2002 and accused of "material support for terrorists." He pleaded guilty to a weapons violation and served his sentence.

Abdul Raheem Al Arshad Ali: An African-American convert to Islam and former Marine, he awaits trial in prison for supplying a semiautomatic handgun to Semi Osman.


Jeffrey Leon Battle: An African-American convert and Army reservist, Battle awaits trial in prison on charges of "enlisting in the Reserves to receive military training to use against America."

John Allen Muhammad: An African-American convert and Army veteran, Muhammad is suspected of having thrown a grenade at a fellow soldier in 1991. He awaits trial in prison as one of two charged in last year's Beltway sniper killings.

Hasan Akbar: Another African-American convert, Akbar awaits trial in prison for two counts of premeditated murder and three charges of attempted murder in a March fragging incident against his fellow soldiers.

The Akbar incident prompted Deanne Stillman of Slate magazine to conclude that Islamists "may be infiltrating the military in order to undermine it."

That infiltration also has a mundane quality; take the example of Nabil Elibiary: An Islamist who protests the "defaming" of bin Laden and defends polygamy, he also led the holiday prayer service at an Air Force base early this year.

Executive-branch insistence on "terrorism" being the enemy, rather than militant Islam, permits this Islamist penetration.

And it continues. The Defense Department responded last week to the chaplain's arrest by defending its hiring practices. Only under external pressure, notably from Sens. Chuck Schumer and Jon Kyl, did it agree to reassess them. Even then, the Pentagon insisted on reviewing the appointments of all 2,800 military chaplains - rather than the 12 Muslims among them.

Political correctness run amok! Which Christian or Jewish chaplains would be accused (as the Washington Times has reported of their Muslim colleague Yee) of "sedition aiding the enemy, spying, espionage and failure to obey a general order? By pretending not to see that the enemy emerges from one source, the authorities dilute their focus, render their review nearly meaningless and endanger security.

The U.S. government needs to use common sense and focus on militant Islam. It should consider such steps as:

* Breaking off contact with organizations (like the Islamic Society of North America and the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Council) that place Islamists in government jobs.

* Suspending presently employed Muslim personnel who got their jobs through those institutions until their loyalty can be confirmed.

* Working instead with anti-Islamist Muslim groups, such as the Islamic Supreme Council of America for Sunni Muslims and the American Muslim Congress for Shi'ites.

* Confirming that government-employed Muslims do, as many of them swore under oath, "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." A mechanism is needed to identify employees with an Islamist outlook and expel them from government service.

Ironically, the Defense Department finds it easier to kill Islamists in Afghanistan than to exclude them from its own ranks. But only if the latter is carried out can Americans be confident their government is fully protecting them.

Daniel Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and author of "Militant Islam Reaches America."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09292003/postopinion/opedcolumnists/6697.htm


Put them in charge of the nuclear arsenal!

[andak01]

Once again, there is a very real threat that needs to be dealt with. Let's deal with it in a way that doesn't cause a stain on our history. There were Japanese immigrants trying to infiltrate during WWII and Communists during the Cold War. It did not necessitate detention camps and McCarthyism to resolve the problem. These things are blights on our American history that could have been avoided. It is true that the very freedoms we enjoy make it more difficult to enforce the law. But giving up all those freedoms in order to fight totalitarianism is simply becoming the thing that we abhore.

I applaud the approach of the armed services. It may not make everyone happy, but it is the American way of doing things. I would be the first to stand in line for security checks. This is a major conflict and like any others, there will be traitors, espionage and sabotage. Traitors should be punished to the full extent of the law.

[SteveMetch]

Originally posted by andak01
It did not necessitate detention camps and McCarthyism to resolve the problem. These things are blights on our American history that could have been avoided. It is true that the very freedoms we enjoy make it more difficult to enforce the law. But giving up all those freedoms in order to fight totalitarianism is simply becoming the thing that we abhore.

The myth of McCarthy’s unjust round up of alleged communists is one of the world’s biggest lies. Read Ann Coulters book “Treason” before you talk about this subject. Another useful link on the subject;

http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/1996/179617.shtml

[L@mplighterM]

Originally posted by andak01
Once again, there is a very real threat that needs to be dealt with. Let's deal with it in a way that doesn't cause a stain on our history. There were Japanese immigrants trying to infiltrate during WWII and Communists during the Cold War. It did not necessitate detention camps and McCarthyism to resolve the problem. These things are blights on our American history that could have been avoided. It is true that the very freedoms we enjoy make it more difficult to enforce the law. But giving up all those freedoms in order to fight totalitarianism is simply becoming the thing that we abhore.

I applaud the approach of the armed services. It may not make everyone happy, but it is the American way of doing things. I would be the first to stand in line for security checks. This is a major conflict and like any others, there will be traitors, espionage and sabotage. Traitors should be punished to the full extent of the law.

You may not know it but currently there’s a Crusade underway led by Muslims that want to destroy the west. Hey! Maybe you converted to Islam so that you can save your butt in case they win.

Traitors especially when dealing with identifiable ethnicities and/or Muslims make everyone a suspect of their respective race or religion. That’s life!
Human nature! Survival!

I think that Japanese Americans were allowed to serve in Germany and Italy during WWII and a similar rule should apply to Muslims.

[andak01]

Oh yeah, Arthur Miller and Aaron Copeland got what was coming to them. YUCK! I hope none of your sickness rubs off on me.

[L@mplighterM]

Originally posted by andak01
Oh yeah, Arthur Miller and Aaron Copeland got what was coming to them. YUCK! I hope none of your sickness rubs off on me.

Not to worry! If you’re dressed in your burka you would be allowed to come within 25-30 feet of me or dressed as a Muslim for that matter.

[ibrodsky]

Originally posted by andak01
Oh yeah, Arthur Miller and Aaron Copeland got what was coming to them. YUCK! I hope none of your sickness rubs off on me.

While I wish gays would voluntarily go back into the closet, I find your Islamo-hate infinitely more sick.

[ibrodsky]

For regular updates on the Islamist Fifth Column, visit:

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/

[L@mplighterM]

Originally posted by ibrodsky
For regular updates on the Islamist Fifth Column, visit:

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/

Seems like an interesting site! Thanks for posting it!

[Mediocrates]

We still live in America, don't we? I see a real danger with assuming that everyone is the enemy.

BTW John Yee is a muslim convert, Asian and well spoken. No amount of casual profiling would uncover him so it's not clear how useful this kind of mind set is. This is not to say that risks abound, only that you don't know what they are. I worry a great deal about handing over a lot of power to a quasi police state mentality, don't you? I also think we have to be brave enough to accept that bad things will happen and therefore there is no necessity to become a completely bunker-ed down country in order to prevent what is unpreventable.


If you think about these recent events @ Camp XRay, what is the actual risk? Doesn't it look like someone was planning a jail break or something like that? Isn't the risk to that facility? And wouldn't you want to handle it like any other prison management problem instead of a call for a national emergency? Sure, some of them are really bad guys, that's why they're there. That's why we have Marion, Leavenworth, etc... They experience the same kinds of problems all the time: contraband, fights, violence, suicide, escape.

[ibrodsky]

Originally posted by Mediocrates
We still live in America, don't we? I see a real danger with assuming that everyone is the enemy.

Who is saying "everyone is the enemy"? This is an absurd comment.


BTW John Yee is a muslim convert, Asian and well spoken. No amount of casual profiling would uncover him so it's not clear how useful this kind of mind set is. This is not to say that risks abound, only that you don't know what they are. I worry a great deal about handing over a lot of power to a quasi police state mentality, don't you? I also think we have to be brave enough to accept that bad things will happen and therefore there is no necessity to become a completely bunker-ed down country in order to prevent what is unpreventable.

I'm not sure who/what you are responding to you, but you are way off base. John Yee is a convert to Islam and spent four years living in Syria. The first fact is obvious, and the most cursory investigation should have uncovered the second. Anyone assigned to interact with captured Al Qaeda operatives should be cleared for such a job... it's not the entire US population, just a handful of people.


If you think about these recent events @ Camp XRay, what is the actual risk? Doesn't it look like someone was planning a jail break or something like that? Isn't the risk to that facility? And wouldn't you want to handle it like any other prison management problem instead of a call for a national emergency? Sure, some of them are really bad guys, that's why they're there. That's why we have Marion, Leavenworth, etc... They experience the same kinds of problems all the time: contraband, fights, violence, suicide, escape.

Who is saying it is a national emergency?

There are two things worrisome about the Camp X-ray events. First, it highlights the fact that our leaders, by calling the current war a "War Against Terrorism" have misguided themselves and others about who/what we are fighting. We search little old ladies from Topeka Kansas in airports, but don't do background checks on Muslims assigned to work with Al Qaeda mass murderers.

The second is that it suggests there are still many Islamists in the US. In case you've forgotten, 19 Muslims lived in this country for a considerable period planning and preparing to massacre thousands of Americans and causing huge damage to the national economy and psyche. They even managed to enroll in flight school and learn to steer but not take off or land.

Hello? A flght school instructor reported this extremely suspicious behavior to the FBI. Islamists already tried to blow up the World Trade Center and it was well known they were continuing to target it.

Perhaps you need to spend some time reading about the various Muslim leaders in this country who claim they are "moderates" opposed to terrorism, but at conferences prior to 9/11 made statements supporting terrorism and inciting violence against Jews.

Or do you think Arafat is the only person who would say one thing in English to the Western media and something completely contrary in Arabic to his own people?

[Mediocrates]

What I think is that if you cut with a broad swath you are bound to injure a number of people who are innocent. I think the key problem is understanding what the risks are. And that is a gap in the administrations plan. They assume "risk" without really thinking what the nature of that risk is. Is it structural, e.g. an overt risk to things, people and places like on 911? Is it perspective driven like attempting to shape public opinion by other means? Is it covert attacks on the electronic infrastructure of the country - which is something we are very vulnerable on. Is it political such as forcing the administrations hand to do something that will destabilize its position here and abroad?

I don't think anyone is asking those questions and instead is going after terrorists the same way cops go after street corner crack dealers. The pall of 911 hangs over us and shapes our assumptions and responses. It focuses our attention to physical threats and I believe that's being narrowminded.

[andak01]

Originally posted by Mediocrates
BTW John Yee is a muslim convert, Asian and well spoken. No amount of casual profiling would uncover him so it's not clear how useful this kind of mind set is. This is not to say that risks abound, only that you don't know what they are. I worry a great deal about handing over a lot of power to a quasi police state mentality, don't you? I also think we have to be brave enough to accept that bad things will happen and therefore there is no necessity to become a completely bunker-ed down country in order to prevent what is unpreventable.

First of all, if you adopt that kind of attitude [you can't trust any of THEM], you also close yourself off to a lot of intelligence. If it is difficult for THEM to infiltrate, it will also be difficult for you to infiltrate THEM.

There were very high ranking US officials during the McCarthy era that were in fact Communist moles. The McCarthy investigations failed to uncover them.


If you think about these recent events @ Camp XRay, what is the actual risk? Doesn't it look like someone was planning a jail break or something like that? Isn't the risk to that facility? And wouldn't you want to handle it like any other prison management problem instead of a call for a national emergency? Sure, some of them are really bad guys, that's why they're there. That's why we have Marion, Leavenworth, etc... They experience the same kinds of problems all the time: contraband, fights, violence, suicide, escape.

I was thinking more along the lines of some sort of negative journalism. If prisoners at Camp XRay are being mistreated, or they can be portrayed as being mistreated, the Arabic press could have a field day.

Look Medio, you are talking to the wall here. The Muslim scare, to these guys is different from any conflict that has ever occurred in history. The concept that traitors are on someone's payroll is secondary to an image of purely evil people motivated by Satan himself.

Espionage, sabotage and all other things that occur in this conflict cannot to them be explained in human terms based on other human conflicts. If you keep trying to explain things rationally, you will eventually be labelled a terrorist. Don't say I didn't warn you.

[ibrodsky]

Originally posted by andak01

Look Medio, you are talking to the wall here. The Muslim scare, to these guys is different from any conflict that has ever occurred in history. The concept that traitors are on someone's payroll is secondary to an image of purely evil people motivated by Satan himself.

Yeah, people living, working, and going to school in a country and then flying jumbo jets into office buildings happens during every war. And there were never any Islamic conferences attended by thousands where speakers incited violence against Jews. And Islamic charities don't funnel money to Hamas--Islam prohibits such deceptions.


Originally posted by andak01
Oh yeah, Arthur Miller and Aaron Copeland got what was coming to them. YUCK! I hope none of your sickness rubs off on me.

Let's not forget that the above words are from andak01's previous post in this thread. Of course, he's a "moderate."

And in another thread:


Originally posted by andak01
Guess you're afraid to stand in the same room with a Muslim carrying a knife.

Due to religious scruples, only paper cutters are used when real harm is intended.

[andak01]

Originally posted by ibrodsky
[B]Yeah, people living, working, and going to school in a country and then flying jumbo jets into office buildings happens during every war. And there were never any Islamic conferences attended by thousands where speakers incited violence against Jews. And Islamic charities don't funnel money to Hamas--Islam prohibits such deceptions.

In every conflict, people incite other people to violence, there are spies, infiltrators, sabateurs, etc. And whenever this happens there is an ethical crisis over how to determine who is on the side of whom. And in every conflict, there are some who give up to their fears and surrender to mob mentality. And there are others who use their reasoning to devise solutions that don't involve witchhunts.


Originally posted by andak01
Oh yeah, Arthur Miller and Aaron Copeland got what was coming to them. YUCK! I hope none of your sickness rubs off on me.

I'm not sure how this quote is incriminating, regardless of how you take it. It was an ironic retort to Steve Metch's suggestion that the McCarthy Era was a good thing. If you agree with Steve, then Arthur Miller et al DID get what was coming to them. If you agree with me, the whole era was a largely anti-Semitic farce which did more to ruin innocent people's careers than to net any Commies of significance.


Originally posted by andak01
Guess you're afraid to stand in the same room with a Muslim carrying a knife.

The above, also taken out of context is a reference to your fear that an interfaith act, like combining the interests of kosher and halal butchers would work to the advantage of Islamists.

You are a moderator. I suggest some moderation.

[ibrodsky]

Originally posted by andak01
In every conflict, people incite other people to violence, there are spies, infiltrators, sabateurs, etc. And whenever this happens there is an ethical crisis over how to determine who is on the side of whom. And in every conflict, there are some who give up to their fears and surrender to mob mentality. And there are others who use their reasoning to devise solutions that don't involve witchhunts.

I agree with what you just said. The problem is you are misapplying it. Perhaps another country, having been attacked as we were on 9/11/01, would have witnessed mobs sacking mosques and dragging Muslims through the streets.

But that's not at all what happened. Instead, the government has investigated, detained, and arrested aliens illegaly residing in the US; people with connections to known terrorist groups; and individuals who violated US laws or US military rules.

Please name one Muslim US citizen who has been the victim of a witchhunt.

If there is a travesty here, it is people claiming we are witchhunting Muslims. The President of the US has insisted all along that Islam is a "religion of peace." He met early on with leaders of groups such as CAIR (arguably, a serious mistake on his part). The US sent Muslim members of the armed forces to fight Saddam Hussein on the assumption they are loyal. Muslims and Arabs were hired to be chaplains, translators, and more. Security at airports and elsewhere goes out of its way not to profile.

It's interesting that President Bush's critics faulted him for not knowing in advance about and preventing 9/11/01, on one hand, and for endangering basic freedoms afterwords, on the other. A more reasonable conclusion is that the US has been careful not to prejudge Muslims despite the likelihood there are other Islamists still operating here.

In contrast, you minimize, deflect, or even dismiss each disturbing report before even examining the evidence. You called Daniel Pipes an "Islamophobe" based on misinformation. It seems you believe Muslims are innocent until they are caught in a terrorist act--but even then you hasten to point out that they are "reacting" to something. But for you people like John Ashcroft and Daniel Pipes are presumed guilty until proved innocent.


I'm not sure how this quote is incriminating, regardless of how you take it. It was an ironic retort to Steve Metch's suggestion that the McCarthy Era was a good thing. If you agree with Steve, then Arthur Miller et al DID get what was coming to them. If you agree with me, the whole era was a largely anti-Semitic farce which did more to ruin innocent people's careers than to net any Commies of significance.

Sorry, but you have made some strong comments about homosexuals, and Aaron Copeland was gay. If by "got what was coming to them" you mean McCarthyism, you don't know what you are talking about.

Aaron Copeland was asked to testify (in private I believe) and was dismissed by McCarthy. He was not accused of anything.

Your claim that the McCarthy hearings were "an anti-semitic farce" are absurd. One of the things McCarthy found perplexing was leftwing Jews sympathetic to the anti-semitic Soviet Union. Actually, at one time during the hearings this false charge was brought up, to which McCarthy's chief counsel Roy Cohn responded "Well, that is an outrageous assumption. I am a member and an officer of B'nai B'rith.''


The above, also taken out of context is a reference to your fear that an interfaith act, like combining the interests of kosher and halal butchers would work to the advantage of Islamists.

Actually, your statement "Guess you're afraid to stand in the same room with a Muslim carrying a knife" could easily be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate. But as a member of the NRA trained in the use of firearms, I am not so easily intimidated.

[Mr. Pumps]

The US sent Muslim members of the armed forces to fight Saddam Hussein on the assumption they are loyal. Muslims and Arabs were hired to be chaplains, translators, and more. Security at airports and elsewhere goes out of its way not to profile.

:rolleyes: They should be, as American citizens and lovers of freedom. If they come to the U.S they should be greatful of American values and the American system, unequalled in tolerence for all and advancement. That is one thing about the U.S system it is the most flexible and understanding in the entire world or in history so if people don't like that they should not live in the U.S.A ......period. or go to another BS totalitarian nightmare blackhole like Saudi Arabia or ahhhh.... the gaza Strip.

The American system is the best one so far, and if others betray it, they should be deported or jailed. Bar none.

[L@mplighterM]

The question becomes whether or whether not Islam wants to spread the word of Allah to the four corners of the world and rule with it, if it does then each and every Muslim becomes an enemy to western values. I happen to believe that moderate Muslims are a fantasy and even if they existed they wouldn’t protect my kids from the Islamic fundamentalists, they’d be taking care of their own behinds.

[Mr. Pumps]

I believe Europe and the US should invade and conquer Syria and Egypt and leave once these pieces of forever black rabble become fully westernized. They obvious can't rule and advance themselves without the distastous and stupid religious protests and violence and America is in Iraq now why not other Arabs nations like Syria and Egypt to give them a helping hand??? They need a helping hand and a big boot in the butt because it is insane these people don't see what a good 5 billion other humans see, that religious control of precious institutions like economics and politics and culture went out about 300 years ago, sorry they missed the boat entirely. Ooohhh....... religion and Jihad is the "Prize" of the Arab world....not other values like modernization, growth and democracy can't never have that that!!!!!!!! is too had to accept in the entire Arab world...alittle flexibility in thought they lack. A democratic Arab world...ooops absolutely forbidden....shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.............. ..............

[Alfred]

In the final analysis, McCarthy was right on many counts.... not all, but many.

Japanese internment was poorly executed and caused un-needed suffering, but there were zero acts of sabotage during WW2. Except one by the Germans.

All this talk is fine but we are now in a world of kamakazi Islamics and suitcase nukes.

We are in a different world today and I just wish we were a little less politically correct. Searching little old ladies at the airport! Give me a break.

Perhaps New York City, the mecca of Political Correctness paid heavily for starting the trend. Perhaps they will pay again.

We folks here in fly-over country think that our national security policy is a joke. The intellectuals on both coasts are mucking things up again.

Close the border. Round up the potential foreign troublemakers and ship them back home....like we have in every other war we have fought. Did we check to see if German citizens were radical Germans before we shipped them home? How can you tell a radical German from a good German? or Japanese or Chinese or North Korean or North Vietnamese.

[L@mplighterM]

Originally posted by Alfred
We are in a different world today and I just wish we were a little less politically correct. Searching little old ladies at the airport! Give me a break.



Some of the guys at US customs were dickheads (I’m talking pre 9/11); my brother was coming down to visit me in Palm Springs (from Canada). He was going to stay for awhile and fly of to Europe, because his ticket was one- way to L.A. they wouldn’t let him board the plane, so he ended up driving down.

Apparently alarm bells go up when you buy a one-way ticket. The bastards that did 9/11 all had return tickets and I guess the presumption was that if you buy a return ticket you’d use it.

I think the little old ladies should be subject to cavity searches, as long as I don’t have to do it.

[andak01]

Originally posted by Alfred
Close the border. Round up the potential foreign troublemakers and ship them back home....like we have in every other war we have fought. Did we check to see if German citizens were radical Germans before we shipped them home? How can you tell a radical German from a good German? or Japanese or Chinese or North Korean or North Vietnamese.

Or a Jew for that matter. Be very careful what you wish for. Protecting the rights of Arab Americans is also about protecting your rights. You should know only too well that a lot of the isolationist people who hate Arabs ( or anyone wearing a turban [witness the slaying of at least two innocent Sikhs] ) also hate Jews. Anti-Hate legislation in this country does more to protect Jews than any other group.

And anyone who knows anything about the McCarthy era knows that Jews were targeted particularly hard.

[ibrodsky]

Originally posted by andak01

And anyone who knows anything about the McCarthy era knows that Jews were targeted particularly hard.

Just keep spouting propaganda.

As I showed above, McCarthy's Chief Counsel was a Jew and a leader in the Jewish community. One of the things McCarthy found perplexing is why some American Jews were sympathetic to the Soviet Union's anti-semitic rulers.

[SteveMetch]

Originally posted by andak01
There were very high ranking US officials during the McCarthy era that were in fact Communist moles. The McCarthy investigations failed to uncover them.

History 101 Andak101

“In July 1995 the Intelligence Community ended a 50-year silence regarding one of cryptology's most splendid successes - the VENONA Project. VENONA was the codename used for the U.S. Signals Intelligence effort to collect and decrypt the text of Soviet KGB and GRU messages from the 1940's. These messages provided extraordinary insight into Soviet attempts to infiltrate the highest levels of the United States Goverment.”

Source (None other than the NSA itself)

http://www.nsa.gov/docs/venona/index.html

The VENONA project was even kept a secret from FDR and Truman because their administrations had already been comprised at the highest levels with paid communist spies. Joseph McCarthy was right on the money with his efforts (most likely utilizing “leaked” info from VENONA). The America patriots who kept this information secret from Socialist/Communist Party ie Democratic party and prosecuted the communist deserve our undying gratitude.

What is currently contained in your brain cells regard Joseph McCarthy are lies that continue to be propagated by the Communist writers and Traitors in the NY Times and other “Liberal” media outlets and the Democratic party. They do this for two main reasons. One they are embarrassed by how much they protected these actual traitors through their vicious attacks on those who only had the best interest of America at heart. By attempting to change history they cover their own complicity. Or two they hate America and love Communism.

Please become more informed on this topic before you comment on it.

It’s hard not to see many parallels between this and the current Islamic terrorists in our midst.

[andak01]

Let's talk about VENONA. What did McCarthy have to do with it??? It was effective despite him, not because of him.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/06/then.now/

This new evidence is forcing the revision of many of the prevailing myths about the internal communist threat to American democracy in the postwar era. None of it exculpates McCarthy. He remains a political bully who hurt a number of people. But his exaggerated and baseless charges also harmed the anti-communist cause. In a variant of Gresham's Law, his bad charges trivialized and weakened good ones.

Which is what I was saying. A real threat doesn't justify a witchhunt.